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Stage 2: K-Member Brace
Continuing on with the objective of transforming the front-half
of the unibody into a rigid box, we turn our attention to the
under side of the car. The K-member is a major chassis component
to which the engine and all front steering and suspension is
mounted to. As a result it also take quite a bit of abuse and
is subject to twisting and flexing.
Aftermaket companies, such as Maximum Motorsports, have developed
a simple brace to help strengthen the K-member. A "four
point" tubular K-member brace is the best bet, but clearance
with aftermarket headers could limit you to a two point brace.
This Maximum Motorsports photo
shows how the 4-point brace mouns to a K-member.
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The tubular brace utilizes existing
holes in the K-member. |
On cars with the factory h-pipe
in place, slight grinding of the heat-sheild is necessary
for clearance. |
Once on the car,
the K-brace fits close to the chassis and does not decrease
ground clearance. |
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Stage 3/4: Subframe Connectors
and Torque Box Reinforcements
To really have a stable platform in a unibody car the front
and rear subframes need to be tied together, and if you intend
to go that far in FOX bodied Mustang then you should address
the torque boxes as well.
Torque box reinforcements by Wolf
Race Craft. |
The attaching points for the rear
axle control arms are called torque boxes and they are simply
bent pieces of sheet metal pinch-welded together and to the
body. Once power is increased and the chassis starts enduring
dragstrip launches or road course g-forces the torque boxes
can bend, crack and even tear if you add sticky tires to the
equation.
After over a hundred hard launches on sticky tires the torque
boxes on GMII surprisingly showed no signs of major distortion,
but, as the need for speed mandates more power we thought it'd
be a good idea to reinforce them now rather than later. Furthermore
because subframe connectors weld over part of the torque box,
it makes sense to weld up the torque boxes at the same time.
More
Subframe connectors from Maximum
Motorsports. Made of 1” x 2” rectangular tubing,
with .120” wall thickness. The cross bar serves to
reinforce the crack-prone area of the floor pan where
the seats attach. MM also makes a longer "full length"
connectors that extends farther up the firewall. |
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